Chandragupta I takes the throne, beginning the Gupta era, often regarded as a golden age of Indian science, art and literature.
Approximate date.
Under the Guptas, the monastery of Nalanda in Bihar is founded and becomes Asia's foremost centre of Buddhist learning for centuries.
Mathematician-astronomer Aryabhata completes the Aryabhatiya, treating place-value notation, an approximation of pi and the Earth's rotation.
In the Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta, the Indian mathematician Brahmagupta gives the first known rules for arithmetic with zero and negative numbers.
The monk Xuanzang travels to India and brings back hundreds of Buddhist texts, which he translates into Chinese.
According to tradition, the monk Mahinda, son of Ashoka, brings Buddhism to Anuradhapura and converts King Devanampiya Tissa.
Emperor Ashoka has edicts inscribed on rocks and pillars across his empire, promoting Buddhist ethics and tolerance.